Tutorials by K S Jewellery Designs

Saturday, 26 September 2009

Recently I was contacted by another jewellery designer about my Fine Silver Leaves Textured Disc Earrings and asked whether I would consider making the discs in different sizes to be used in her own jewellery designs.

I welcomed this new direction to my jewellery business and have decided to offer this to any other jewellery designer who might be interested in some handmade charms or discs. They can be used in all sorts of projects such as earrings, bracelets or necklaces. I can make them to pretty much any size you want and pre-drill as many holes as you need.

If this sounds interesting to you, here are some of the textures I can make: leaves, hammered, pebbles, water, triangles, flowers, drain cover, puddles, diamonds and circles.

Friday, 25 September 2009

I am always telling my kids and the children I work with that they should share but this time I’m not going to! Look at these gorgeous midnight boro swirl beads I won from lovely Becky of Chameleon Designs in her latest blog giveaway. I am so lucky!

The beads are truly spectacular and they’re mine... all mine!

I will of course ‘share’ the photos of whatever I make for myself with them - see, I'm not really that selfish!

You must go and browse round the Chameleon Designs website and look at Becky's glorious beads and jewellery. You have to be quick though when she makes new beads as they are sold in an instant.

Saturday, 19 September 2009

I've been busy busy busy, creating for the table sale on Sunday. Have I got enough stock? Will I sell anything? Will anyone turn up? Will I even make enough to pay for the cost of the table? So many unknowns... I shall just have to see.

Anyway, here are some of my latest jewellery pieces starting with the first pair of earrings I am calling 'Sitting Pretty' (fine silver hammered rings with little silver clay flowers 'sitting pretty' at the bottom). Next are three of my 'Blooms' earrings (patterned, crystal and shiny), little flowers all made from silver clay and sitting on integral earwires.

If you're a jewellery fiddler like me (in other words, if you can't resist touching and fiddling with the jewellery you wear), then these are the earrings for you as the little flowers spin around.

Monday, 7 September 2009

Currently I am very busy creating jewellery for a charity table sale I am doing on Sunday 20th September at Denbies Vineyard in Dorking. My range of 'Hammered Circles' jewellery always seems popular so I've had a bit of a production line going. The gemstones here are amethyst, kyanite, amazonite, turquoise, green aventurine and carnelian.

Please click on the photo for a more detailed view

These hammered circles are silky smooth thanks to my sanding and polishing pads. Although I've made these earrings for the table sale they are also up for grabs in my Folksy shop including some moonstone earrings not shown here.

Sunday, 6 September 2009

I had a go at fusing fine silver wire last night. It went surprising well, apart from when my husband said 'What happens if you keep heating the wire up?' I held the butane torch over the wire and we watched it get hotter and hotter and then bubble, turn into little balls and then pretty much disappear! That was quite an expensive experiment - I hate wasting valuable materials.

Anyway, here are my first pieces of jewellery made from fusing silver wire. Firstly I made some Super Shiny Hammered Ring Earrings. They are light and delicate but surprisingly strong (an hour in my tumbler helped to polish and strengthen the rings).

Then I made a larger ring from 14 gauge wire. I found fusing thicker wire easier than thinner wire. I used the ring to make a matching Super Shiny Hammered Ring Pendant.

Please click on the photos for more details.

All in all, I found fusing very satisfying. I had a very late night last night as I went straight on to fuse some slightly smaller rings from the 14 gauge wire which I intend to use in a bracelet design.